Stolen Moments
by Carebeark5
Summary: Haley is a single mother of a four year old, when her son goes missing she must find him with the help of a man who changes her life forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Mommy," Aiden James whispered in a sleepy voice as his small feet padded barefoot across the carpet to the bed his mother was lying on. Haley slowly opened her brown eyes to look at her young son who was standing next to her in his Superman pajamas holding a ratty looking blanket that he carried everywhere with him.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing up?" she asked helping him onto the bed as he snuggled up to her chest.

"I had a bad dream."

"Aww poor baby."

"I stay with you mommy?" he asked with an innocent pout. Haley laughed; he must have learned that from her even though he was like his father in every other way. Sometimes it hurt just looking at him.

"Here baby snuggle under," Haley said raising the comforter so he could climb underneath. She watched as his breathing evened out and she knew that he was fast asleep. She watched him for a few minutes before trying to get some sleep herself, but sleep would not come, she kept thinking about Adam.

Flashback

"Morning sweetness," Adam said coming up behind his wife as he placed his hands on her waist.

"Morning," she replied with a smile as she turned around to kiss her husband.

"What ya makin'?" he said peering over her shoulder.

"I was making omelets but we're out of milk."

"I'll go get some, babe," he replied as he kissed his wife on the cheek before spotting his son smashing his toast and smearing the peanut butter all over his face. "Hey little man, your making a big mess there aren't ya," he said with a smile as he kissed the top of his sons head, before grabbing the keys and heading out the door.

End Flashback

That had been three years ago but she would never forget that day for the rest of her life; that had been the last time she would ever see her husband again. It was as if a part of her was gone. She couldn't live without him, yet somehow she had and she knew that it was only because of her son. It was hard because she knew that Aiden didn't even remember his father, but she had promised Adam that she would let their son know how much he loved him and what a wonderful man his father was.

Haley glanced over at the clock next to her bed, it was almost 6 am and she knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep. She climbed out of bed and made her way down the hall to make some coffee because she knew she would definitely need it this morning. After she had her first cup she started making her sons favorite blueberry pancakes, as she was pouring the batter into the pan she spotted her son coming into the kitchen with his blanket in tow.

"Morning sweetie," she said bending down to kiss his cheek.

"Morning mommy," he replied as he scooted up onto a chair.

"I'm making blueberry pancakes," she said with a smile.

"Yay," he said clapping his hands together.

Placing the pancakes on the plate and putting them on the table Haley sat down next to her son. "Are you excited about school today, honey?" she asked placing a pancake on his plate.

"Yeah," he replied stabbing the pancake with his fork.

"Sweetie, remember to cut it up first."

"Can you help me mommy?"

"Sure," she replied with a laugh as she cut it into smaller pieces.

After eating breakfast Haley put the dishes in the dishwasher and then helped her son wash the syrup off his face and hands. "Alright, run and get dressed baby." Haley watched her son run off to his room to change into the clothes she had laid out the day before. Her little baby was going to school for the first time, he had grown up so fast.

"I'm dressed mommy."

"You look great," she replied.

"Are we going now, Mommy?"

"Yep, here's your lunch," she said handing him his little school bag with Wolverine on it. They walked into the garage where she helped him into his car seat and they made their way to Tree Hill Elementary.

Pulling up in front she spotted kids running here and there and worried parents desperately trying to let go of their babies. Haley was one of them; it would be hard to leave her son for his first day of kindergarten.

"Mommy, we gonna be late." She heard from the backseat.

"Oh sorry, sweetie."

Climbing out of the car she helped him out of the car seat and holding his hand walked him to room 40C where Ms. Adams would be his teacher. Watching as her son let go of her hand and walked into the classroom she knew that he didn't need her as much anymore.

"Bye sweetie," she called after him.

"Bye mommy." He waved back.

Haley walked to the car and drove to the office where she worked as a temp. She had started working there after Adam died because she needed the money. When he was alive he was the one who brought in the money while she stayed home with Aiden. She didn't like her job at all but she did it for her son, so that he could have everything he needed. Parking her car in the front lot of the office she climbed out and walked through the large glass doors and into the lobby.

"Hello Haley," she heard George, the doorman, say as she entered.

"Hey George, how are you today?"

"I'm great. I heard that today was Aiden's first day at school," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, he couldn't wait to go," she replied with a laugh.

"Aw it must be hard for you; I remember my wife sending our daughter years ago and she was a mess."

"Yeah I didn't want to leave him."

Haley waved goodbye to George as she made her way to the second floor where her office was to start working. She loved talking to George, he was such a nice old man and whenever Aiden had to come to work with her she knew she could always count on him to entertain her son for a few hours.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Haley made her way to her desk and groaned as she spotted the large stack of papers awaiting her. "Why me?" she thought to herself as she took a seat. Reaching over for a stack of papers, a picture caught her eye. She smiled, remembering back when it was taken.

"_Hey little man," she said, picking up her son from his spot on the carpet._

_She walked over to the kitchen and placed him in his highchair in front of a large cake as Brooke lit the candles, while the guests started a chorus of Happy Birthday. She watched her son as he looked around in wonder; he was growing up so fast._

"_It's too bad you're daddy's not here to see your first birthday," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. _

"_Hales, are you ok?" Peyton asked, walking over to where Haley stood._

"_Yeah, I'll be fine," Haley reassured her_

_Haley cut the cake and placed a small piece in front of her son; he glanced down and looked at it wondering what to do. Haley laughed as he started smashing it into the tray and between his fingers. _

"_Here sweetie let me help you," she said grabbing one of his chubby hands and putting it in his mouth so he could taste the cake. Just as he started to get the idea, Brooke came in with a camera._

"_Say Cheese."_

Looking at the photo, she wondered what her son was up to at that very moment, "Probably making friends with all the kids," she thought with a laugh.

"Hey Hales," she heard a familiar voice call out as she turned around to see her best friend Brooke Davis.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to see you tutor girl."

"Were not in high school anymore Brooke, I'm no longer tutor girl."

"You'll always be tutor girl to me," she replied with a laugh.

"So was my godson excited about school?"

"Yeah and I'm glad he was but I was kind of hoping he would want me to stay. It's like he doesn't need me as much anymore, he's growing up so fast."

"Yeah, he sure is," Brooke said with a smile. "Don't worry sweetie, he loves you and he will always need you in his life in someway."

"Yeah I guess you're right," Haley replied with a smile.

"You know I'm always right and I happen to know that you hate this job Hales, so why are you still working here?" Brooke asked.

"You know I need the money Brooke."

"I know, but you can do so much better and you know it," Brooke replied just as the phone rang.

"This conversation will have to wait until later," Haley said, picking up the ringing phone.

"Hello, Ryerson and Smith Temp. Agency, how may I help you?"

"Is this Haley James?" the voice on the other end replied.

"Uh, yes it is. Who may I ask is calling?"

"My name is Nathan Scott. I work for the Tree Hill Police Department. I'm sorry to have to tell you this mam... but it seems your son is missing."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"_My name is Nathan Scott. I work for the Tree Hill Police Department. I'm sorry to have to tell you this mam... but your son seems to be missing."_

Haley's breath left her body as soon as the words reached her ears, "W-What do you mean he's missing?" she managed to stammer out.

"I just got a call from his school. He never came back after the kids were let out for recess," he replied, his voice soothing.

"No, he can't be missing. You…you have to find him." She crumpled to the floor, sobbing.

Brooke grabbed the phone from Haley, knowing that she was unable to speak.

"Hi, I'm Haley's friend Brooke. What is going on?"

"You'll need to bring Mrs. James to the station right away so we can start looking for her son."

"Well be there as fast as we can," she replied, hanging up the phone and helping Haley to her feet. "It's going to be ok Hales; we won't stop until we find him."

Brooke knew that if Haley lost her son, she would have nothing left to live for. She just couldn't let that happen to her best friend.

Brooke glanced over at her friend as she drove madly down the road towards the police station. Haley was staring off into space and she could only imagine the pain that she must be going through, '_How could something like this happen to someone so close to her, especially someone like Haley?'_

When they finally arrived, Haley rushed through the doors, Brooke trailing behind her, "Did you find him yet?" she asked hopefully after reaching the front desk.

"No mam, I'm sorry, there hasn't been any sign of him. We looked around the schoolyard and in all the places around it. Do you happen to have any pictures of your son on you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"We want to put your son's picture out there so we can see if anyone has caught sight of him."

"Here, I have one in my wallet," she said, handing it to him.

xxx

"Are we going to see mommy now?" Aiden asked the stranger from the backseat of the silver Porsche.

"We sure are little buddy," he replied with an evil smirk.

Aiden looked out the window at the houses whizzing by, "I can't wait to tell her all about my day at school," he said cheerfully.

Finally they pulled up in front of a small white cottage, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, "Where are we?" Aiden asked, looking at the house in front of him.

Bending down in front of Aiden, the man said "Your mommy set up a special surprise for you. She'll be here in a few days and she wants you to wait here for her while she gets everything set up."

"Oh, ok. I wonder what it is."

"It's got to be pretty special for someone like you," he said messing up the boy's hair a little.

Aiden followed the man into the house and looked around. It was a lot smaller than his own house, but it was nice. "What are we going to do while we wait? I don't have any of my toys."

"I thought you'd say that and guess what? I got you a little present," he said handing him a box of Lego's.

"Wow! Lego's. I love Lego's," he said sitting on the carpet in the living room to play.

_That'll keep the kid occupied for a while_, he thought with a laugh.

xxx

Haley sat across from the police officer who called her moments ago. At the moment he was on the phone with all the local channels, trying to get her sons picture on all the stations so that people would see it. It had been almost an hour since she got that horrific phone call that had changed her life forever.

Brooke came back with a cup of coffee and handed it to Haley, "How are you holding up?" she asked.

"How am I holding up, Brooke? My son is missing and you ask how I'm holding up?" Haley snapped.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry; I didn't know what else to say," she said pulling her friend into a hug.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't be taking this out on you," she replied with a sad smile.

Nathan hung up the phone, "Okay, they all said that they would run your sons picture and send the calls through to the station."

"So what do we do now?"

"There's not much we can do but wait to see if anyone has spotted him."

"So we just sit here?" she asked.

"I know this has to be hard for…"

"No, there is no way I'm just going to sit here while my baby is out there all-alone," she said standing up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I know you're worried about your son, but I promise you that we'll find him."

"Not like this we won't," she replied.

Nathan stood up from his seat "If you're going out to look, I'm going with you."

"All right, come on, we have to find him," she said as she turned to face Brooke.

"It's ok, I'll stay here and see if they get any calls, so that way I can call your cell if there's any sign of him."

"Okay, thanks Brooke," she said, hugging her friend.

"Everything will be alright, Hales." Brooke said reassuringly, all the while hoping she was right.

Haley climbed into the passenger side of the squad car as Nathan put the car in gear and pulled out of the lot and onto the road.

"Do you want to call your husband, tell him what happened?" he asked, glancing at Haley and then back at the road.

"My husband died three years ago," she replied glancing at her feet.

"I'm sorry," he replied, not knowing what else to say.

The rest of the ride to the schoolyard was silent as Haley glanced out the window hoping desperately to see her son. They pulled in the lot and drove around the building to double-check that he wasn't there. They then drove down the street, calling his name over and over hoping that he was somewhere nearby. Haley's heart dropped when their was no sign of her son anywhere.

xxx

"Brooke Davis? I'm Lucas Scott, Nathan's brother," he said, shaking her hand.

"Hi, have there been any calls? Have they found Aiden?" she asked, her voice full of hope.

"No we haven't found him yet, but there have been a few calls."

"Really? So people have seen him?"

"We're not sure yet. We have to follow up on each call and make sure that they actually saw him."

"Oh," she said, her heart falling. "How long will that take?" she asked, taking a seat once again.

"Well it could take a while to sort through all the calls but I'm trying to hurry the process along. I want to find this little boy as much as you do," he replied touching her arm in a comforting gesture.

Lucas pulled his hand away as he answered the phone, "Okay, thank you, I'll check it out."

After hanging up the phone he turned to Brooke, "The chief wants me to check out one of the people who called in. The woman claimed to see a little boy matching Aiden's description getting into a silver Porsche around the time he went missing."

"Really? Oh my god. Do you think he's been kidnapped?"

"That's what we'll have to find out after we know for sure that it was Aiden."

xxx

Haley and Nathan continued driving around the neighborhood looking everywhere for Aiden when Haley heard Nathan's phone ring.

"Hello?" Nathan answered.

Haley looked over at him, hoping it was news about her son.

"Hey Nate, I'm following up on a few calls we've received about the boy. Don't tell Mrs. James this but I believe the boy may have been kidnapped. There's no sense worrying her unless we know for sure."

"Alright well let me know if you find anything."

"Will do."

"Was that about Aiden?" she asked as he hung up the phone.

"They're following up on a few calls the stations received," Nathan explained to her.

"People have seen him?" she asked, her voice full of hope.

"That's what we're checking out right now, Brooke went with my brother to talk to a few people who called in claiming to have seen him."

"We have to find him, Nathan," she cried, unable to hold back any longer.

Nathan pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned off the ignition." I promise you I will do everything I possibly can to find your son," he said, taking her hand in his.

"Th-thank you," she managed to choke out through the tears.

"How about we go back to the station? We can wait there for any news."

"Alright," she agreed, accepting the Kleenex he handed her.

xxx

Brooke and Lucas arrived at the lady's house, ready to ask her some questions about what she had seen. They knocked on the door and waited, hoping that the woman knew something that would lead them to the boy.

"Hello Mrs. Kane, I'm Officer Lucas Scott. We talked on the phone," Lucas introduced himself once the woman answered the door.

"Oh yes, come on in." she said, letting them inside.

"Now what exactly did you see?" Lucas asked, taking a seat next to Brooke on the couch.

"Pretty much what I told you on the phone. I was outside working in my garden when I saw a little boy get into a silver Porsche," she informed them.

"Are you sure it was this little boy?" he asked showing her the picture of Aiden.

"Yes I'm sure that it was him," she stated, glancing at the picture of the same little boy she had seen on the news. She would remember a cute face like that.

After leaving the lady's house, Lucas and Brooke made their way to the police station.

"So he has been kidnapped," Brooke said in horror at the thought of her nephew with a crazed kidnapper.

"It is possible," he said, not wanting to worry her too much. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

xxx

Haley sat at Nathan's desk as he bought her a cup of coffee from the lunchroom.

"Thank you," she said with a weak smile.

"Don't thank me till you've tasted it," he joked, trying to make her smile. He prayed they would find her son soon; it was horrible, seeing a frown on such a beautiful face.

Just then Brooke and Lucas walked in the door and Haley immediately knew something was wrong. "What is it? Do you know something?" she asked jumping out of her chair.

"I'm really sorry Ms. James but we have reason to believe your son was kidnapped," Lucas told her gently.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"_I'm sorry Mrs. James but we have reason to believe your son has been kidnapped." Lucas replied gently._

"K-kidnapped," she managed to stammer out as her body started shaking and the tears started to fall.

Brooke took Haley into a hug, "It's going to be ok. We'll find him." She said rubbing her back soothingly.

"Haley (or should it say Mrs. James) why don't you sit down," Nathan said noticing how shaky she was on her feet.

"I- I can't, I have to find him. My baby," she cried dropping to her knees and putting her head in her hands.

Nathan walked over to where she sat and bent down in front of her, taking her hands in his. "We will find him," he assured her looking into her eyes.

"What do we do now," she asked wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"Well we will put a bug on your phone in case the kidnapper calls demanding a ransom."

"When? When will we do that?" she asked.

"We can do it now, the sooner the better," he replied.

The four of them arrived at Haley's house, "I'll make you some tea," Brooke said heading for the kitchen as Lucas went with her to install the bug on the phone. Haley glanced around the large living room; it felt empty without her son. She longed to hear his voice or the small patter of his feet across the carpet. Nathan sat in the chair across from her watching as she folded and unfolded her hands in her lap, he knew she was worrying about her son and he wished there was more he could do to ease her mind.

xxx

Brooke grabbed the kettle off the counter filling it with water as Lucas sat at the island working on the phone. Placing the kettle on the stove she turned around to face him. "Do you really think the kidnapper will call?" she asked.

"In these cases they usually do, if they kidnapped Aiden for ransom money they will call."

"I can't believe this happened," Brooke replied leaning against the counter for support.

Lucas watched her from his seat, he wished there was more he could do. Things like this shouldn't happen to innocent children. He hated seeing Brooke so upset and he had just met her and he could only imagine what Haley was feeling.

xxx

Nathan watched Haley longing to reach out and comfort her, take her in his arms and tell her everything would be ok as he continued to watch her from across the room. He only hoped that in this case everything would be alright.

"I miss him so much," he heard her say breaking the silence between them.

"I know."

"How did this happen? I taught Aiden to never go with strangers. Why didn't he listen? This is all my fault." She said more to herself than to Nathan.

"This is not your fault. Things like this just happen; kidnappers have a way to get the kids to go with them. They tell them they are friends of their parents or that they have presents for them or something."

"I still never thought anything like this would ever happen to me." She replied wiping at the tears glistening in her eyes.

Nathan moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her as Brooke and Lucas walked in with a tray of tea, Haley turned to Brooke with a weak smile and Brooke knew that her friend was barely hanging on.

"I finished installing the bug on your phone, so we just need to wait and see if the kidnapper calls," he said sitting next to his brother on the couch.

"I think that's the hardest part," she replied taking a sip of her tea. "The waiting."

"Yeah," Brooke agreed with a sigh.

Ring! Ring! Haley jumped as she heard the phone ring. She raced to answer it, "Hello," she said trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Hello Haley," said the voice on the other end.

"Where's my son?" she cried out.

"He's safe, were both waiting for you?" he replied with a laugh.

"Where are you?" she asked as she glanced at Nathan who was motioning for her to keep the guy talking so he could trace the call.

"I have to go now, but I know we'll be together soon."

"No please don't go, let me talk to my son," she pleaded before she heard the beep signaling that he had hung up on her. "No!" she cried dropping the phone onto the counter as Brooke came to her side.

"Were you able to trace it before the kidnapped hung up," Brooke asked pulling Haley in for a hug.

"Unfortunately no, did he say anything that may help us?"

"No all he said was that he had my son and that they were waiting for me."

"Did you recognize his voice?"

"No it didn't sound familiar at all."

"And they didn't demand a ransom?" Lucas asked.

"No, what do we do now?" she asked as the tears started to fall again.

"Maybe he'll call back," Brooke replied hoping for the best.

"What if he doesn't?" Haley cried.

"We'll deal with that if it happens," Nathan replied trying to sound positive for Haley's sake.

"We have to find him, we just have to," she pleaded as tears rolled down her face.

"I promise you we will do everything we have to, to find you son and bring him home safe," Nathan replied touching her hand gently.

"Th-thank you," she managed to stutter out between sobs."

After Lucas and Nathan left, Brooke made Haley rest which was no easy task. She made her promise that she would wake her up if she got any news about Aiden and after fighting with Brooke for almost half an hour she had finally fallen into a fitful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning Haley awoke with a start from a nightmare so horrible that it left her gasping for breath. Sweat poured down her forehead as she tried to gulp in enough air to calm her erratic breathing. She looked over and noticed Brooke asleep beside her and that's when she remembered last night.

She was hoping it had all been a nightmare and that her son was really just across the hall asleep in his own, warm bed. Rushing across the hall she prayed it was all just a nightmare but when she saw the empty bed she knew it was real.

The next day the police had resumed their search first thing and Haley prayed that today they would find her baby. He just had to be alright, she told herself.

"Did you find anything new?" Haley asked rushing over to Nathan as soon as she entered the station. Brooke followed behind her, she had tried to get her to at least stop long enough to eat something but Haley refused.

"Nothing yet Mrs. James I need to ask you, is there anyone who you think could have done this? Anyone that may hold a grudge or who you've argued with in the past?" He asked taking a seat across from her.

"No one I can think of."

"What about anyone hanging around your house or work? Anything that seemed suspicious?"

She thought about a minute, going back over the last few weeks in her mind. "Wait, a few days ago I heard the neighbors dog barking during the night. At the time I thought it was odd since the dog never barks."

"What day was this?"

"Last Monday it was probably around midnight."

* * *

Aiden awoke in a small bed, looking around he realized he wasn't in his own room. "Mommy?" He called out as he padded down the hall.

The man from the other day came out of one of the other rooms and walked towards him. "Good morning , little man."

"Where's mommy? Aiden asked backing up a little in fear.

"She's coming , she's not here yet but she'll be here soon. She's just getting your surprise ready."

"I don't believe you. I want my mommy now." The little boy cried. He raced back into the room where he had slept and the man followed behind him.

"I want to talk to you."

Aiden grabbed a toy off the floor and threw it at the man. "I think you need a time out." He said closing the door and locking it.

Aiden immediately raced over and started banging on the door. "Let me out, let me out!"


End file.
